Council passes proclamation for National Gun Violence Awareness Day

By Travis Barton | [email protected]

The South Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously to pass a proclamation declaring June 2, 2017 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The day was meant to serve as day of remembrance for victims and survivors of gun violence. 

“I think it’s a proclamation we should consider signing because, unfortunately, we do have elevated levels of gun violence in this city,” said Councilman Mark Kindred during a May 24 city council meeting. 

The national day began a few years ago to recognize that more than 90 Americans die each day via gun violence. As a national day, citizens across the country were encouraged to wear orange on June 2 to bring awareness to the issue. 

Kindred said it’s not a proclamation to be “anti-law enforcement or anti-gun.”

“It’s really just a recognition of what gun violence does not just in America or Utah, but also in our community,” he said. 

The proclamation reads that trying to keep guns away from “those who are likely to misuse them” does not go against the Second Amendment. It also pledges to “do all we can to keep firearms out of the wrong hands and encourage responsible gun ownership.” 

Councilman Ben Pender, a detective with the Unified Police Department, said he supported the proclamation and didn’t associate it with being contra law enforcement. 

“There are firearms in the wrong hands out there and, unfortunately, we see it all the time and there are a lot of deaths related to that,” Pender said. 

The council had to motion to suspend the rules which would normally have pushed the vote until its next city council meeting on June 7. But, in order to pass the proclamation prior to June 2, the council suspended the rules and passed the motion.